He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Ongoing #1 Talkback Thread - SPOILERS

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No, she is not Despara because of Skeletor's mind wiping spell, altough it would make sense since Hordak was instructing him. They said they were in Despondos so I think they told her story about being Despara and everything but that's past Despara. The Despara we see now is Adora turned back into Despara, after the Horde reclaimed Etheria.

Just got it today... didn't like the family death scene; especially after the sadness of Boston. But other than that I am in. I know a lot of people have design problems, but we already have a lot of comics with those designs and stories... I like reading something new. I don't take one canon over any other... These "characters" were toys first, most of them. So I created my own mythos 30 years ago... it's fun to see what others have come up with... and Despara is one of the BEST re-designs and most certainly should be a new figure.

I will NEVER believe that Mermista beheaded Mer-Man! You sit on a throne of lies.... and smell of beef and cheese, bio writer!!!!

I have to say...I don't like all the comedy during The Sorceress' funeral. That's salt in a wound, for sure. Lop her head off like she's nothing, break fans' hearts and then make it a joke?! Also, Teela HATED The Sorceress? WTH is that about? She always had GREAT respect for her. Teela stripping in front of everyone? Double WTH is that about? I guess this will be known as Teela's exploitation scene. Evil-Lyn had hers, naked on Nolar and The Sorceress' was her severed head being held by Skeletor. Flutterina was savagely murdered and tossed aside like garbage without her NAME even being spoken! I wonder when Despera, Adora or She-Ra will get her exploitation scene? Will it be an up-skirt shot? /horrible sarcasm about DC's treatment of women in comics.

I have to say...I really like when Despera blasted Teela off the balcony and said "Servants should know their place." Teela's kind of a spoiled, bratty ***** in the new comics.

The rest of the issue was good, but man, they're SO short! I was right about Despera putting the farmer and kids out of their misery. I really don't care for that scene, but it wasn't an act of evil. They happened to land there and mortally wound the family and Despera didn't want them to suffer. She's very cold, but you can tell that deep inside still lies Adora. I REALLY like how they are writing Despera. They're doing a fantastic job with her. Much better than Teela and He-Man, in my opinion. I can't wait for the next issue. Sister Act.

Hordak is SUPER creepy looking. I want to know what's up with the corpses that are like...part of his legs! I also can't wait to find out how Teela knows buzz-cut, tattoo faced Despera is Adora. I mean...she was kidnapped as a baby...when Teela would be a baby...and Adam didn't even recognize his sister!

Why does Teela hate all magic users? SOOO many questions.

I lol'ed at the Teela hair change scene. I think the funniest panel is when all three characters are looking at the reader. It was like Teela's saying "Thanks for making us change Teela's hair colour and ****** up our story!" The look on her face says it all. I truly believe they wanted to keep her blonde, but all the confusion early on if she was She-Ra (it was even questioned in interviews), made them change her hair colour. For the first few issues, people weren't sure if she WAS Teela or not when she was blonde, wielding a sword that looks like it could be the Sword of Protection.

Also, two blonde female leads...boring. I'm glad Teela is back to being a red-head, but they need to make her more likable. I have always loved Teela, but I don't care for her too much in this series. Some comedy is okay...but they're making her far too sarcastic too often...and blood thirsty. Her answer to everything seems to be to kill it...or swear. Teela was always fierce, classy, highly intelligent and SOMETIMES hot tempered. So far she doesn't seem to have any side to her that really cares about anything. She needs some humanizing, because she's less likable than Skeletor. HE's been given depth as Keldor in the origins story, which makes us understand him and feel bad for him.

Last edited by Darkspecter; April 21, 2013 at 05:32am.

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I have to say...I don't like all the comedy during The Sorceress' funeral. That's salt in a wound, for sure. Lop her head off like she's nothing, break fans' hearts and then make it a joke?! Also, Teela HATED The Sorceress? WTH is that about? She always had GREAT respect for her.

This isn't the other Teelas. The world of Yellow Cross He-Man is different, such as people knowing that Adam transforms into He-Man.

Teela stripping in front of everyone? Double WTH is that about? I guess this will be known as Teela's exploitation scene. Evil-Lyn had hers, naked on Nolar and The Sorceress' was her severed head being held by Skeletor. Flutterina was savagely murdered and tossed aside like garbage without her NAME even being spoken! I wonder when Despera, Adora or She-Ra will get her exploitation scene? Will it be an up-skirt shot? /horrible sarcasm about DC's treatment of women in comics.

So what do we call the MOTU equivalent of Women in Refridgerators?

I lol'ed at the Teela hair change scene. I think the funniest panel is when all three characters are looking at the reader. It was like Teela's saying "Thanks for making us change Teela's hair colour and ****** up our story!" The look on her face says it all. I truly believe they wanted to keep her blonde, but all the confusion early on if she was She-Ra (it was even questioned in interviews), made them change her hair colour. For the first few issues, people weren't sure if she WAS Teela or not when she was blonde, wielding a sword that looks like it could be the Sword of Protection.

I think if it was She-Ra, she would have kept the winged tiara.

But...Teela and She-Ra do have similar hair (if Teela is Blonde), similar clothing colors (white and gold), have similar weapons (jeweled 200X Sword and shield) and even similar steeds (Charger and Swiftwind are both unicorns, although Swiftwind has wings). If we had a creative team that was more..."reverent" of the history of MOTU like the MVCreations guys, then we could have had a nice little scene or issue leading up to the change. Blonde Teela is walking around and people call her She-Ra, while She-Ra is walking around and everyone calls her Teela. They fight a villain and then after a discussion and a laugh about their similarities, Teela decides to change her hair.

I believe that Giffen or better yet, DC editorial, probably never gave a reason for the change because they think that the change was so silly, so they never bothered to explain it. But they do have fun with it all issue. For that, I DO think the change might have been because of the fanbase preferring Teela to be redhaired. That must have been the #1 complaint about the new comic on our forums alone. The writing goes out of it's way to poke fun at the fact that she's a red head now and that it's strange, probably because Teela in that world was blonde up until this time.

I loved it. I just wished that he-man was still a secret it kinda kills the point of having Adam. I'd always just be He-man......

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I would say that Adam doesn't want to abuse the power with selfish desires, BUT since Adam IS the power now, that's thrown out the window. He's probably only doing transformations for the sake of the fans, when he could stay He-Man.

In the Val Staples canon - which I judge immensely superior in every way to this recent - offering - He-Man could not remain in his heroic form for too long, as the Power within him was potentially damaging to him - it was far too great for mortal hands (and minds) to wield for any great length of time and thus could do harm to its host and even corrupt him into abusing it - as MGMax so rightly points out (rather like Tolkien's rings of power - best used in moderation!) Nor was He-Man even the possessor of the WHOLE of the Power - only a part of it.

In that way Adam's persona protected He-Man from the harmful effects of the Power - and he had thus the actual requirement to revert to his less heroic format. This seems to me to be right; power IS damaging - and does corrupt - and isn't good for mortals in excess, so Adam's decency and humility really mattered as a safeguard against hubris and abuse - and the wearing effects of great power borne for too long.
Note, also, that under extreme physical and mental stress, He-Man could revert to being Adam whether he wished to or not - the external trauma forced the reverse transformation.

These nuances and subtleties have all been lost by the clumsy and ill-thought-out assertion that He-Man IS the Power. But, then, Giffen as a writer plainly lacks Staples' innate understanding - and, I fear, talent....

I can see no rationale for the change - but that goes for so much of this recent opus. Too many glaring flaws and too little shading - and, as a result, careless and unconvincing as stories.

Perhaps Adam being He-Man and He-Man (purportedly) BEING the Power explains why the prince is an unlikeable brat with no manners or feeling - and why He-Man is now a lumpen killer. He didn't used to be - because he served a true power - that gave him strength and skill sufficient to vanquish his foes and defend Eternia without needing to slaughter humans. And humility and decency too. And far better taste in the company he kept...

But, then, red-cross He-Man was a true and enduring hero; I am far from sure that yellow-cross He-Man is anything of the kind. Already my sympathies lie with the Horde - and pre-Giffen, that could NEVER have happened - but the present characters are mostly so utterly dislikeable and brash and shallow that it's almost impossible not to want to see them put to the sword by Despera. What a sad reflection on this brave new world that - indeed - hath such (obnoxious) people in it.

These nuances and subtleties have all been lost by the clumsy and ill-thought-out assertion that He-Man IS the Power. But, then, Giffen as a writer plainly lacks Staples' innate understanding - and, I fear, talent....

Giffen is more like a casual fan of MOTU, not some one so intertwined with He-Man like Val is. He most likely sees everything from that viewpoint --without any real reverence for the source material. I'm not saying he hates the source material, but he's far more likely to change things than a hardcore fan would.

Giffen is more like a casual fan of MOTU, not some one so intertwined with He-Man like Val is. He most likely sees everything from that viewpoint --without any real reverence for the source material. I'm not saying he hates the source material, but he's far more likely to change things than a hardcore fan would.

....and therein lies the entire problem with this series and it's "new direction". It is fine to take certain small artistic liberties with a franchise to make a more thoughtful or realistic story arc, but to blatantly change a well known and deeply defined character...or several...to a shallow and one dimensional killer with no morals is flat out wrong on a basic level. A good story writer should know that as a cardinal rule. That is why this is such a travesty.

I have to admit that I liked this issue better than most, if not all, of the six issue mini. That being said, despite a couple of minor things coincidentally matching up with my personal canon, I'm still not entirely digging these DC books.

The entire mini seemed half-baked (both in art and writing), and while I feel the story has a little more direction in this issue (whether it's a good direction or not is debatable), the art still seemed rushed. I should not be able to see the pencil breakdowns in the final product after it's been inked and colored. Does no one have an eraser? (Look at the steps on the page left of Adam's transformation for an example of what I mean). It just seems rushed.

As for the story, we'll see. I have no issues with different interpretations of MOTU. We all have our own personal canon, in a lot of ways. However, I'm not so sure that this one is one I'll remain interested in over time. I like depth to my stories, and over the course of seven issues (plus one-shots, etc.), I've not seen much from DC as yet.

I liked how epic the city of Eternos looked. I didn't get the impression the H-symbol represented Zoar, though I like that idea and Zoar being the name of God on Eternia. I didn't care for the death of the family part either, but I also read Despara's mercy killing as a set up for Adora's compassion and eventual redemption. Honestly this was more like 200x days and I especially enjoyed that. I get the criticisms of Teela, but she's also the most interesting character in the issue. Why's she so angry and blood thirsty? Why does she hate magic and the Sorceress? How is she going to react to the truth? How does she recognize Adora? I'm most intrigued to know more about her, and by extension MAA is more interesting because she's a mirror for him (according to Dekker). The only thing odder than Teela stripping down in the hallway is the act somehow reminding Dekker of a young Duncan.

Also, I didn't see Marlena again. Think she's dead or lost somehow?

The Horde Troopers look very cool--probably my favorite design from DC. Not so fond of Hordak's design--looked okay for Horde Prime but I hope it's on a temporary look for Hordak.

1) Teela doesn't say she hates the Sorceress. She just doesn't like her very much.
2) Teela doesn't revel in killing. She just tries to get He-Man to fight a powerful enemy before she stops monologueing. She's just genre savvy.
3) Teela stripping down in front of Adam, Duncan and Dekker informs character! She just doesn't care what others think about her. Considering that her normal costume is probably more revealing than her underwear I doubt one can argue this is the exploitative scene.

Also: We do not know how much of the strange behaviour of Teela comes from the essence of the Sorcress being transferred into her body...

....and therein lies the entire problem with this series and it's "new direction". It is fine to take certain small artistic liberties with a franchise to make a more thoughtful or realistic story arc, but to blatantly change a well known and deeply defined character...or several...to a shallow and one dimensional killer with no morals is flat out wrong on a basic level. A good story writer should know that as a cardinal rule. That is why this is such a travesty.

Yeah, that's the bad part about a new guy. On the other hand, a guy who isn't a hardcore fan sees things from a fresh perspective and can introduce new ideas, rather than keep relying on older, more established ideas.